Bhubaneswar: Legendary cricketer Kapil Dev called upon students to stay away from imitating anyone and, instead, realize their potential. “Don’t try to copy anybody be yourself, duplicate can’t be better than original. Don’t lie to yourself and be honest and live for the moment,” said the Captain of the World Cup-winning Indian cricket team of 1983 while addressing the concluding day event of the three-day annual function of the Buxi Jagabandhu English Medium (BJEM) school here, Monday. The school is celebrating its golden jubilee this year. He said completing 50 years is a big thing for any organization. “I want to congratulate BJEM for achieving that,” he said adding, “legacy is a very difficult thing to maintain, but very easy to spoil. So please maintain the brand and legacy of the school through hard work.” Asked what memory he wanted to preserve from his glorious career as a cricketer, the Haryana Hurricane said, “I live for the present moment, I don’t believe in looking back. I live in the present moment and try to enjoy that.”
To a question whether the present crop of Indian cricketers is better than those in the past, he said, “Today’s youngsters and cricketers are far better than us. Whenever we play World Cup these days, we are always top contenders, which was not the case in the past.” Guest of honor Police Commissioner Saumendra Priyadarshi appealed to parents to take care that children don’t get addicted to gadgets. Principal Sandhya Jena said that a generation was inspired after Kapil Dev won the 1983 trophy. “And today, BJEM students will be inspired by his presence,” she said.
